Tag Archives: Terrorism

Commander: O Mujahid! Listen closely while I instruct you how to infiltrate the United States of America in preparation for a future operation. Pay a coyote approximately 2,500 USD to help you cross the border from Mexico. Read a supplication prior to this journey, because many people die…

Become a champion tennis player. You will be allowed to, nay welcomed, in all cities of the world, including targets like Paris, London and New York. The naive enemy will even forget that your name sounds like the Arabic word for struggle.

Here’s my question: if it would have been dishonest to leave torture out of the film entirely, how is it not dishonest to leave out how generally ineffective it was, how morally corrupting, how totally it enraged the entire Arab world, how often we used it on people we knew little to nothing about, how often it resulted in deaths, or a hundred other facts? Bigelow put it in, which was “honest,” but it seems an eerie coincidence that she was “honest” about torture in pretty much exactly the way a CIA interrogator would have told the story, without including much else.

I was fasting but had to fight the incessant urge to vomit, as my Twitter feed spiked with tweets about a shooting at a Sikh Gurdwara. Hoping against hope it was a mistake, my heart began to race and my teeth clenched as several news reports confirmed the incident. Another terrorist attack against innocent souls, this time just south of Milwaukee, but an hour from where I grew up.

The Qur’an imposes upon Muslims a fundamental duty to protect all houses of worship. Allah proclaims, “Those who have been driven out from their homes unjustly only because they said, ‘Our Lord is God’ — And if Allah did not repel some men by means of others, there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of God is oft commemorated. And Allah will surely help one who helps Him. Allah is indeed Powerful, Mighty —” (Quran 22:41).

Six innocent Sikhs and a terrorist lost their lives today. Many more are injured. Today, at this dark hour, I say to my Sikh brothers — We Are With You! Through every hardship and trial, we stand united with you against all forms of religious persecution, discrimination, and violence. We honor and revere His Eminence Guru Nanak who taught that, “There is but One God, His name is Truth, He is the Creator, He fears none, He is without hate, He never dies…”

And as I said earlier – I’ll never forget how both the Sikh and Muslim communities came out in solidarity, to protect each other, last year during the UK riots. The response to this heinous crime and true tragedy over in the US, has been similarly admirable from the community…

To be in a place of worship – a place that’s meant to be a peaceful sanctuary – and have your people attacked like that… I just… it’s so very saddening. My thoughts and prayers go out to all Sikh brothers and sisters, and their family, caught up in this true tragedy.